


Why Did You Leave Me Behind

by templarsandhoes



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Trespasser Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:22:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/templarsandhoes/pseuds/templarsandhoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taela Lavellan ran towards the Eluvian, and went through it before Iron Bull could follow. He wouldn't lose her now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Did You Leave Me Behind

Had it been any other situation, Taela Lavellan would be in awe of her surroundings. The colors in the trees were different than in Fereldan or Orlais, and as she looked out over the horizon, and odd sense of comfort washed over her. The air was warm, with humidity that wasn’t making her uncomfortable for once. As she moved from one eluvian to the next, she almost chuckled; this was the most Dalish she’d ever felt. The strange joy she felt being in these ruins quickly vanished as Saarath’s magic nearly blinded her. 

The anchor discharged at Taela’s command, and it hurt. The Iron Bull looked on, making sure he cut down every qunari coming at his Kadan. And while it helped, it still was not enough. His heart broke every time that anchor emitted green magic, every time she cried out in pain. Taela was no stranger to pain; everyone in the Inquisition was aware of that. But this was a different kind of pain. She was scared, terrified. She had no doubts in her mind that when she chased the Viddasala through this eluvian, she would not return. Either the foreign qunari, Solas, or her hand would kill her. 

As the last waves of pain lolled through her arm, she picked up her dagger, specially crafted for her. She took a deep breath and continued her fight. She may be dying, but she would try her damn hardest to delay her end. For his sake. She heard the concern in his voice every time he asked if she was okay. The magic in her arm crackled and popped loudly, cancelling out all of the noise around her. In a daze, she ran towards the saarebas in the middle of the clearing. Pain rang through her ears as she channeled her energy to her hand. The flash, bright enough to put any of Dorian’s flashfire spells to shame, was all she saw as the energy kicked her back ten feet. The first thing she heard again was Bull’s voice. “ _ Kadan! _ ” He shouted, and she practically heard the adrenaline in his voice. 

“Bull…” her voice barely allowed. He was next to her in seconds, hovering over her and blocking the sun. Or what she thought was the sun; none of them were too sure of what their surroundings truly were. His rough, calloused hands were gentle against her exposed arms as he carefully pulled her back to her feet. His hands cradled her face, forcing her to look into his eye. Bull stared into her pink and red eyes; those eyes that held a thousand mysteries. He wanted to spend the rest of his life finding out her secrets and stories, and that dream was not going to end if he could help it. The anchor started to glow again, faintly. They all knew it was only another minute before there would be so much magical energy in her tiny arm and hand that she had no choice but to dispel it. He looked at her hand, then back at her face when he heard her sob quietly. One tear fell down her cheek, and Iron Bull nearly fell to his knees. He could kill as many bastards in her path but he could never take the pain of the anchor away. There was nothing he could do for his kadan. He never thought this day would come. 

Suddenly, her eyes darted to the next eluvian, the faint blue light radiating, calling her like a beacon. The light started dimming, and she knew she had no time left. It was now. This was ending here. She looked back up to Iron Bull, cradling his face just as he did to her. She pulled his head down to hers, crashing her lips into his. He felt the wet spot on her face and he felt his own eye water. She pulled away quickly, her lips barely off his when she spoke. “Dareth shiral, emma lath…” she whispered to him. Before he had time to answer her, she was running towards the mirror. And she was fast, out of range before he could process what was happening. He tried to chase her, but she had a head start, and he couldn’t get his legs to move fast enough. He called her name out, called for his kadan, but she kept running. The eluvian was closing, but she would make it through. He would never get there in time. She was going alone, and that scared the Iron Bull more than any demon ever could. He only focused on her, her tiny body running and running and running. One foot went through the mirror, and she turned back to look at him one last time. The corners of her lips turned up slightly, hoping her smile is what he sees last. She crashed down just in time for the eluvian to completely close behind her. She was safely on the other side, ready to put an end to all of this. She caught her breath, and stood up. 

Iron Bull yelled and screamed for her, pushing his body to reach her in time. His eye darts up to see the magic in the eluvian receding, her portal to another place closing. “No!” he cried out as she put one foot in the mirror. He froze in place. She turned around as the mirror closed, and he swore he saw her smile. With the mirror closed completely, he dropped to his knees. “ _ No _ …” he choked out, barely making a sound. He blinked his eye, two tears falling down. He stared at the now-dark mirror, his heart beating in his throat. He didn’t hear Sera or Dorian behind him, didn’t care when Dorian placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“She’ll come back, yeah? She has to come back…” Sera started, her voice cracking as her sentence went on. She fiddled with the string of her bow, her fingers dancing along nervously. She desperately looked at Dorian. He took in a deep breath as he removed his hand from Bull’s shoulder. 

“It’s closed, not destroyed. It should be able to be opened again-” The Tevinter started, but was cut off by Iron Bull standing up fast. He turned around and glared at him with pain in his eye. 

“Get it open again.” He ordered. “Try and get it open again. She needs our help. We can’t abandon her now!” He said franticly. He was throwing his arms around, unsure of what to do. He was helpless. Dorian looked at the grass beneath him, unsure of what to say. He knew how to open eluvians, and he did not possess the key. There was nothing any of them could do. “Why did she do that?” He asked as his features softened. 

“Because she’s infuriating.” Dorian scoffed. 

“We can find a stupid key,” Sera started. She put her bow on her back, beginning to search around the mirror. There was no point, and they all knew it. But, she searched anyway, her eyes watering as she pushed branches and stones out of their place. Bull started walking away. He needed to keep his body moving, needed to do something so he didn’t break down completely. He walked to the edge of the island they stood on, and he looked out to what was beyond them. 

“Fucking eluvians. Fucking magic.” Who he was talking to, no one knew. He grew angrier by the second. “Fucking saarebas. Ahh!” He yelled out, punching the tree closest to him. It stung. The pain shot up through his arm, but he knew it was nothing compared to what his kadan felt. His eye watered again. “Dammit, Kadan. Why did you leave me behind?” He asked himself. He breathed deeply, forcing himself to not cry. 

“Oi! The mirror’s doing the glowing thing!” Sera called out. Bull didn’t think, he just ran. He had to find her. As much as he hated this place, he would spend every waking moment here if it meant he could have his kadan back. He almost didn’t turn his head sideways so his horns would fit through. He closed his eyes as he run through, opening them as soon as his feet hit solid ground again. 

“Taela!” He yelled as loud as he could. He searched through the stone...were they warriors? Qunari? These were questions that would be answered later. Right now he needed to find her. He swallowed hard as he waited for a response. Sera and Dorian followed him through the eluvian, albeit more carefully than he did. His eye was frantically moving, scanning the landscape with precision. He dragged his vision up to a massive eluvian, bigger than any of the mirrors they had ever seen. He saw a flash of white-blonde hair, and the cry of his kadan in pain. “KADAN!” He yelled as soon as he knew it was her. “I’m coming, kadan. I’m coming…” He said as he started to run towards her. It was more for him, making himself promise that he was going to get there faster than she went through that eluvian. He watched her fall to the ground, then the large eluvian closing. Making his way up the stairs, he heard Sera behind him, calling out her name as well. He heard a glass bottle hitting the ground, and he turned back to see Dorian was the one that threw it. He wiped the lyrium off of his mouth with his sleeve. Dorian wasn’t a healer by any means, but he knew some basic spells. And for her? The best friend he’s ever had? Well, he was going to try just about anything. 

Iron Bull’s vision was blurred as he saw Taela lying down, barely making a sound. He slowed as he came closer to her, only focusing on her face. He cradled it just as he did before, and she barely let out a whimper. “Fuck, kadan. Stay with me. Please. Taela. Kadan. I need you. Don’t leave me,” he pleaded quietly. Her lips turned up at the corners, just as they did before. 

“I was beginning to think...you weren’t going...to show…” she struggled to say. He let out a sob, unable to maintain his composure. 

“Kadan, I’m always right behind you. That’s a promise.” His own lips turned up when he heard her breathing. He listened for a few seconds, and her breaths were starting to become regular. He sighed. 

“Is she alright?” Dorian called out. Sera was ahead of him. 

“Her arm!” She yelled, as she covered her mouth. Bull was in such a panic to make sure she was breathing, he didn’t think to check for wounds or anything of the sort. He cursed himself for not checking, then looked at the hand where the anchor was. Or used to be. In fact, he looked down and saw absolutely nothing. His eye went up, where he eventually saw her elbow. He removed the armor on her arm as best he could. 

“Kadan…” he sighed. She took a deep breath. 

“It’s not going to hurt...anymore,” she said quietly. Dorian kneeled down beside her. 

“What the…” He started. Iron Bull looked at him, his eye desperate for an answer. Dorian looked back down at the new end of her arm. “It’s...healed. It looks as if…” 

“I told you...Solas...could help with...it,” she said. Her breathing was steadying even more know. Dorian still used a healing spell, as it couldn’t hurt. Bull moved the hair out of her face, and pressed his lips to her forehead. 

“Sera. Water. Now.” Bull ordered. She panicked a little, but quickly pulled out the flask she carried. She practically threw it to him, then watched as he held it up to the Inquisitor’s lips. 

“Tay, don’t friggin scare us like that again, you hear?” Sera said, her voice still wavering. Taela slowly swallowed the water, and managed to use her hand to pull the flask away from her mouth. She raised her hand, and brought it to Iron Bull’s neck, where she gently placed it on his rough skin. He tilted his head into her hand. 

“I won’t,” she promised. 

**Author's Note:**

> the doc this is written in is called "oW WHY DID I WRITE THIS" and these two deserve nothing but happiness


End file.
